Elastic and non-elastic narrow fabric and method and apparatus for manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A strip of narrow woven fabric having elastic sections and nonelastic sections predeterminedly spaced along the length of the fabric. The fabric is continuously woven with areas having less picks per inch than other areas so that the areas containing the fewer picks are elastic and the other areas are non-elastic with spaced areas woven to provide smooth cutting areas for manufacturing a plurality of strips of narrow material.

United States Patent Goff et al.

[ ELASTIC AND NON-ELASTIC NARRow FABRIC AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME [72] Inventors: Richard E. Goff, 35 Lamson Road, Barrington, RI. 02806; Antonio Schiappa, 240 Division Street, Pawtucket, RI. 02863 [22] Filed: May 12, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: 823,661

[52] US. Cl. ..l39/24 [51] Int. Cl ..D03c 19/00, D03d 15/08 [58] Field of Search ..134/42l, 422, 24, 304

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,713,637 5/1929 Aaron ..l39/422 1,075,831 10/1913 Kops ..139/422 1 Aug. 22, 1972 1,081,675 12/1913 Kops 1 39/422 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 2,554 1853 Great Britain ..139/24 9,486 1905 Great Britain ..139/24 19,486 1903 Great Britain 139/24 27,425 1912 Great Britain ..139/421 Primary Examiner-James Kee Chi Attorney-Alexander T. Kardos and Robert L. Minier ABSTRACT A strip of narrow woven fabric having elastic sections and non-elastic sections predeterminedly spaced along the length of the fabric. The fabric is continuously woven with areas having lesspicks per inch than other areas so that the areas containing the fewer picks are elastic and the other areas are non-elastic with spaced areas woven to provide smooth cutting areas for manufacturing a plurality of strips of narrow material.

1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures Patented Aug. 2 2, 1972 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Aug. 22, 1972 3,685,549

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. la/42p E 60;; ggvra/v Jaw/MP4 ATTOR EY.

Patented Aug. 22, 1972 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I I I 7 I 30 32 3 52 ELASTIC AND NON-ELASTIC NARROW FABRIC AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME This invention relates to a narrow fabric having elastic and non-elastic sections and to a continuous method of manufacturing such material.

Narrow fabrics are widely used in the foundation and apparel industry as straps for brassieres, bands for girdles, waistbands for pants, etc. In many of these end uses it is desirable that the narrow fabric be elastic and in other end uses it is desired that the narrow fabric be non-elastic. There are also many uses where it is desirable that a portion of the narrow fabric be elastic and the remaining portion be non-elastic. One such example is in the shoulder strap for brassieres.

Another area where elastic and non-elastic narrow fabric might be used is in the waistband of girdles where the waistband is meant to accomplish two purposes, i.e., stretchability and support, and very often boning or similar stays are placed in the waistband to provide rigid support in the garment.

We have developed a continuous method and apparatus for manufacturing a narrow fabric having elastic sections and non-elastic sections defined by a pair of woven areas woven in a different pattern than the remaining portion of the fabric for severing the narrow fabric and forming the desired unit such as a shoulder strap, foundation waistband, etc.

The invention will be more fully described when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view in perspective of a portion of a shoulder strap made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective of the mechanism used for manufacturing material continuously in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the rocking motion of the mechanism;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the pick motion of the mechanism of FIG. 1 in the position to weave the nonelastic portion of the material;

FIG. 5 is the pick motion in a position to weave the elastic portion of the material of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows the motion for driving the take-up roll.

Referring to the drawings, in FIG. 1 there is shown a brassiere shoulder strap which has elastic and nonelastic portions as indicated. The strap 10 comprises elastic warp yarns 11 and non-elastic filling yarns 12. At each end of the strap the warp and filling yarns are woven in a different weave pattern than the remainder of the fabric. These areas are used in a continuous operation to show the start and finish of each strap and indicate where the narrow fabric is to be severed to form a single strap. In the non-elastic area there are sufficient filling yarns woven with the warp yarns so that the warp yarns maintain their highly extended state and hence, have no elasticity whereas in the elastic section considerably fewer filling yarns are used so that after this area is woven the elastic warp yarns relax and have the desired degree of elasticity.

In manufacturing the fabrics of the present invention any of the known elastic yarns may be used as the warp yarns such as rubber core yarns covered with cotton and/or nylon or similar materials, spandex yarns, lycra yarns, etc. The filling yarns may be any of the standard filling yarns generally used in the manufacture of narrow fabrics. The number of filling yarns in the nonelastic section must be sufficient to keep the warp yarns fully extended and, hence, the number of filling yams will depend upon the degree of stretch in the warp yarns and the size of the filling yarns. The number of fill yarns in the elastic section are usually less than the number in the non-elastic section and it is preferred that the number of yarns woven into the elastic section be such that when the fabric is in the relaxed state the number of fill yarns along each inch of the fabric be substantially uniform. This uniformity produces a nice appearing band in that it is uniform along its entire length and the elastic section does not stand out from the non-elastic section and disrupt this uniformity. One or more elastic sections may be placed along the length of the band as desired.

In many end uses it is desirable to obtain crosswise rigidity in the narrow fabric. This is especially true in waistband applications where certain non-roll characteristics are desirable and in applications where boning is needed. The waistband may be woven with nonelastic areas so that no further boning is required when used in the final apparel in that the great number of filling yarns used in the non-elastic section increases the crosswise rigidity of the narrow fabric and in itself will act as a bone or stay in a garment.

In manufacturing our new narrow fabric it may be made on any of the standard narrow elastic fabric looms presently being used, such as what is known in the industry as a dobby loom. A dobby loom has a mechanism known as adobby head which is used to control and reproduce the desired weave pattern. Other looms having head motions which can actuate more than six harnesses may be used. The head motion controls the weave over the desired length of fabric and depending upon the size of the chain will depend upon the frequency at which the weaving pattern will repeat itself.

Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 2 through 6, a dobby head chain mechanism actuates the harnesses which control the shedding action, that is, the up or down position of the various warp yarns. When the shed is formed the shuttlecarrying the filling yarn is moved through the shed from one side to the other. As in standard operation another shed is formed and the fill yarn placed in the next shed, etc. Motion is imparted to the shuttle by a vertical member 20 which receives its source of power from standard loom drive means not shown. After the fillings are placed inthe shed and the shed changed to the next shed a standard beat-up motion is used to keep the filling yarns together. Supplied from the same loom drive means is the take-up motion which controls the number of picks per inch which is to be placed in the fabric. The take-up roll 21 usually has a roughened surface and the material 22 being woven passes about a portion of the circumference of the roll to control the rate at which the warp yarns are pulled through the loom and, hence, the number of picks placed in the fabric. The take-up roll is driven by a suitable chain of gears 23, 24, and 25 which are, in turn, driven by a spur gear 26 or a similar controlled drive mechanism. The spur gear is driven through the pick motion and through the linkage 27 attached to the bottom of the vertical member which is shaped piece 30 which in turn is pivotally mounted from suitable framing 31 for back and forth movement. The opening of the U-shaped piece receives a slotted bar 32. A bolt 33 through the U-opening and the bar slot holds the pieces in their appropriate positions. The other end of the slotted bar is bolted to the outer edge of the spur gear so that the rocking motion of the vertical member is converted to a back and forth motion of the slotted bar which in turn is converted to a circular motion of the spur gear. The back and forth circular motion of the outer disc 34 is transferred through a series of teeth and gears 35 to the inner disc 36 to produce a uniform rotation of the inner disc which is transmitted directly to the various gears and, hence, the take-up roll.

The position of the rod 29 within the slot 37 will control the amount of rocking motion presented to the outside disc and, hence, will control the speed of the takeup roll and the number of picks per inch placed in the fabric during the weaving operation. The closer the rod is to the outer disc the smaller the rocking motion, the faster the take-up roll moves and the less picks per inch placed in the fabric. The further from the disc that the rod is positioned in the slot the greater the rocking motion of the disc and the less the speed of the take-up roll and, hence, the more picks per inch placed in the fabric being woven.

The change in the number of picks per inch is accomplished through the chain mechanism which control the harnesses such as the dobby head. The dobby chain, a standard mechanism not shown for the sake of clarity, actuates the sticks 40 and 41 at a certain position in the weave. The stick 40 is connected by a suitable wire 42 and guide rolls 43 and 44 and springs 45 to .maintain the required tension, to a pivot arm 46 mounted from the loom frame 31. On the opposite end of the pivot arm 46 is a second pivot arm 47 which is connected to the U-shaped piece 30 and the controlling slot 37 connected to the take-up roll motion. When the stick 40 is actuated by the chain mechanism the pivot arms are moved forwardly and the rod 29 moves forwardly in the slot 37 increasing the speed of the take-up roll. This movement is held in position by means of a fabric having a plurality of uniform strips with each trip lever 50 connected to the outer circumference of the outer disc 34 of the spur gear. The trip lever has a dog 51 which engages a block 52 in the U-shaped piece and holds the rod in the desired position in the slot. The

fabric continuously weaves in this position for a desired number of picks to produce the desired length elastic section in the fabric. When this portion has been woven the dobby chain mechanism actuates the other stick 41 which is connected by a wire 60 through suitable guide rolls 61 and 62 to the trip lever 50. This pulls the trip lever up allowing the U-shaped piece 30 and the rod 29 to return to its furthermost position through the spring 63 attached to the frame and the pivot arm 47 so that the fabric is now woven with a great number of picks per inch and the non-elastic section of the fabric is woven.

The weave itself is controlled by the standard dobby chain mechanism. This includes the end portions of the various specific piecewhichare required to produce .the cutting areas. Y t

l W i r n tithod for continuously producing narrow strip comprising at lease one elastic section andone non-elastic section and saidstrips being separated by areas having a different weave than the elastic and nonelastic sections and being suitable for severing the fabric comprising: interlacing filling yarns with elastic warp yarns at a constant rate and in a first weave pattern, said elastic yarns being under tension during the entire interlacing of said filling yarns, moving said warp yarns continuously in thedirection of their length at a first speed for a first predetermined number of interlacings, decreasing the speed at which the warp yarns are moving to a second speed sufficient to interlace the maximum number of filling yarns with the warp yarns per unit of length for a second predetermined number of interlacings while maintaining the rate of interlacing constant, changing the weave pattern from said first pattern to a second weave pattern while maintaining the warp yarns at said second speed for a third predetermined number of interlacings while maintaining the rate of interlacing constant and repeating said procedure. 

1. A method for continuously producing narrow fabric having a plurality of uniform strips with each strip comprising at lease one elastic section and one non-elastic section and said strips being separated by areas having a different weave than the elastic and non-elastic sections and being suitable for severing the fabric comprising: interlacing filling yarns with elastic warp yarns at a constant rate and in a first weave pattern, said elastic yarns being under tension during the entire interlacing of said filling yarns, moving said warp yarns continuously in the direction of their length at a first speed for a first predetermined number of interlacings, decreasing the speed at which the warp yarns are moving to a second speed sufficient to interlace the maximum number of filling yarns with the warp yarns per unit of length for a second predetermined number of interlacings while maintaining the rate of interlacing constant, changing the weave pattern from said first pattern to a second weave pattern while maintaining the warp yarns at said second speed for a third predetermined number of interlacings while maintaining the rate of interlacing constant and repeating said procedure. 